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refried beans

Dried Beans Electric Pressure Cooker

About two years ago we got an electric pressure cooker. While you cannot tell from my posts, I absolutely love having it. Owning an electric pressure cooker has made a positive impact for a multitude of reasons. One of the benefits of owning an electric pressure cooker is the decreased cooking time of dried beans.

Being a non-red meat eater and eating very little animal protein I have relied on eating beans for protein for many years. Using the electric pressure cooker shaves hours off of the cook time. If time is money I’m getting rich off of the time saved cooking beans with my electric pressure cooker!

Speaking of money, cooking your own dried beans is more cost effective than purchasing canned. Dried beans are also unprocessed and you control the amount of sodium, fat, and other additives when making your own.

Just in the past two weeks I have made red beans for my Red Beans and Rice and Homemade Baked Beans, and for General Rules for Cooking Beans

Before cooking dried beans, pick over and discard any broken or shriveled beans or bits of dirt and debris. Rinse beans and drain.

Beans may be soaked overnight, but the pressure cooker allows you to cook beans without presoaking.

Do not salt before cooking as salt inhibits cooking.

Onions, garlic, celery, sprigs of fresh herbs or a bay leaf may be added for additional flavor.

It is important to read the manual of your brand of electric pressure cooker to ensure the best method of cooking dried beans; however I am going to give you some general rules and cook times.

Cooking times will vary depending on if you have soaked your beans or not soaked your beans. Smaller beans or legumes will have shorter cook times while larger beans need more cooking time.

The cooking time for one cup of a few varieties of unsoaked dried beans in the electric pressure is as follows:

Garbanzo Beans 50-60 minutes

Red Beans 30-35 minutes

Pinto Beans 30-35 minutes

There are so many wonderful uses and time saving reasons to own an electric pressure cooker. Cooking dried beans is just one of them, and one I recommend. I also suggest you try making your own refried beans once you have made some pinto beans in your pressure cooker.

Rewinding a bit to go back and hit some recipes from last week I’m going back to Cinco de Mayo. A couple of the recipes I made didn’t quite hit the mark, but they were hits with 50% of the family and good enough to try again. What do you think of these Cinco de Mayo food recipes?

The first recipe is one that a friend posted on social media. It just screamed ‘try me, I’m delicious’! The Hubs was not a fan, and Daughter Number Three was only so-so on the Avocado Fries. Daughter Number Four liked them a bit more than they did, and I thought they were awesome! For the Cinco de Mayo meal I served them as a side or topping for our taco burritos, but I think they would also be great as an appetizer with a dip.

The next recipe is one that I have wanted to try for a long time and just hadn’t taken time to make. I am so thrilled that I did it. Cooking dried beans has been a part of my life forever, but had never cooked them in a slow cooker. I cooked them the day before I mashed and finished them up. They seemed a tad bit dry and a little bland. The Hubs said that they weren’t at all dry the day before, because he had eaten plenty.

That wraps up the fun new recipes I tried for Cinco de Mayo. I’ll definitely try them again.